The Atlantic Chamber Ambassador’s were hosted by Roland Funeral Service on Thursday, September 7th. Roland Funeral Service is celebrating 104 years of business and

Ambassadors Left to Right: Lana Westphalen, Jim Kickland, Sarah Wood, Alisha Wagner, Mike Conley, Pat Magill Claussen, Elaine Otte, Dr. Keith Leonard, Bob Boots, Heidi Roland-Hinman, Jen McEntaffer, Sue Liston, Dolly Bergmann, Larry Hinman, John Bricker, Julie Waters, Jeff Christensen, Tori Gibson, Jeremy Butler, Kennedy Freund, Kelsey Beschorner, Anne Quist, Chris Cullen.

debuting a few improvements.

Heidi Roland-Hinman, co-owner, shared with the Ambassadors the rich history of Roland Funeral Service in Atlantic. In 1919 Burdett Roland became employed as the Funeral Director and Embalmer for Peacock & Baxter Furniture and Undertaking Company that was located at 315 Chestnut Street in Downtown Atlantic. In 1922, when Burdette bought into the business, the business name changed to Roland-Peacock and Baxter. The business remained on main street until 1926 when Burdette purchased property at Fifth and Elm streets and moved a house to make room for what is now the Roland Funeral Home. Since that move, the Rolands Family and staff have continued the tradition of serving Cass County and the surrounding communities with a personal and meaningful approach to creating a loved one’s final tribute.

Many aspects of the Roland Funeral Service building have stayed the same, but recently the family has added a few physical improvements to the property including a new sign out front and surfacing the North parking lot.

Roland Funeral Service is located at 204 E 5th Street in Atlantic.

For more information about the business, call 712-243-5492 or visit their website at www.rolandfuneralservice.com

A Des Moines man was sentenced Wednesday, September 6, 2023, to six years in prison following his guilty plea to receipt of child pornography.

According to court documents, over the course of several months in 2022, 55 year old Matthew John Marcalus used Instagram to communicate with a fifteen-year-old child. During these conversations, Marcalus engaged in sexually explicit chats, and solicited and received photos of the child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Marcalus also sent the child photos of Marcalus’s genitals. Eventually, law enforcement became involved and communicated with Marcalus while posing as the fifteen-year-old child. Officers arrested Marcalus when he arrived at a location to meet the child.

Following his prison term, Marcalus must also serve a ten-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement.

The Ankeny Police Department, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Leemkuil prosecuted the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Iowa is known as the king of corn but lately, there also appears to be a bumper crop of acorns. Anyone who’s taken a walk near oak trees has crunched across many hundreds of the dime-sized seeds with the cute caps. Mike Reinikainen (rain-ee-KY-nen) is a silviculturist (SILL-vah-culturalist), or an expert forester, and he says that abundance of acorns is called “oak masting” and it’s a cycle of nature.

Iowa’s been weathering a drought for several years and we’ve seen a slew of hundred-degree records set in recent weeks. Reinikainen says that’s all playing a role in the oak masting as fall approaches.

Iowa homeowners with oaks on their property don’t need to be concerned. Reinikainen says there is -no- evidence to suggest acorns damage your lawn by changing the p-H balance of the soil, but most people rake them up as a matter of comfort for bare feet or because they’re unsightly.

Red Oak Police report that on Friday, September 8th at about 9:00 am officer conducted a traffic stop in the 100 block of North 2nd Street.  After investigating, officers arrested 39 year old Ryan Nelson for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Driving under Suspension.  Nelson was held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

This Sunday is World Suicide Prevention Day and Iowa health officials are working to raise awareness about the free, confidential, round-the-clock help that’s available through the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Julie Maas (MOSS), Iowa’s 9-8-8 project director, says they’re focusing not just on the state’s larger cities, but also remote areas.

The Lifeline was launched in July of last year and has since had contacts with more than 40-thousand people across Iowa, most of them through phone calls but some via text or chat.

Suicide is the ninth leading cause of death in Iowa, but it’s number-two for those between the ages of ten and 35. Roughly one in five people who reach out to the Lifeline in Iowa are considering taking their own lives. The rest may be experiencing some sort of crisis, which can range from having a car that won’t start to being diagnosed with cancer.

A report released in May from Trust for America’s Health shows 549 Iowans died by suicide in 2021, which is a drop of three-percent from the year before.

Creston Police arrested Jaden Justus Loe Thursday afternoon on a Union County warrant for Going Armed with Intent, Reckless Use of a Firearm with Property Damage and Criminal Mischief on the second degree.  Police report the charges stem from an incident in Creston on June 14, 2023 where several rounds were fired at a residence in Creston.  Several spent shell casings were recovered from the scene and sent to the Division of Criminal Investigation lab to be analyzed.

Police say additional arrests are pending as a result of this incident.

Also, in an unrelated incident Thursday, police arrested 42 year old David Junior Richman of 305 North Elm Street in Creston at his residence.  Richman was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.  Richman was cited and released on a promise to appear.